My 2¢ Worth

oday begins a series of articles on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I think I finally ended up with seven altogether.

hile this series of articles is by no means all- encompassing — it should give you a good beginning on your way to SEO proficiency.

lease take the time to read these articles before spending your money on SEO professionals. Many of the things most SEO professionals will tell you are simply not true. Most of these guys are just out to make a buck. I guess I can't fault them for that — I want to make a buck too — but some of their means are unethical.

nyway, the first in our series of articles was written by yours truly. You'll see many of these same things repeated as you go through the series. Why? Because they're tried and true.

ne thing you can be sure of, I'm not spreading around the same old misinformation which can be found all over the Web.

Feature Article

What Many People Don't Know about Indexing

by: Ed Andrist Paradigm Web Design

Many folks have complained that I never publish articles regarding search engine submission in Web Sm@rts. There is good reason for this — submitting your site to the search engines is unnecessary. Yes — you read it correctly. Submitting your site to the search engines is unnecessary. Let me clear up the mystery involving search engine submission.

Everyone wants their Web site indexed by the major search engines. Without inclusion in the search engine listings, there is no chance of receiving any search-related visitor traffic. You will receive no search engine generated Web traffic at all. For that reason, the most important search engines, especially Google, must index your site.

You often hear people suggest that you must either manually or electronically submit your Web site to the various search engines. Don't listen to them. They are either in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) business or simply uninformed. The entire idea of needing to submit your Web site to the search engines is a myth. All you need to do is to let the search engine spiders find and crawl your site. They will index you. Just how do you do that? Glad you asked. Read on

How Search Engines Index Sites

The search engines make regular crawls of the Internet. Their spiders are constantly crawling the Internet searching for new Web sites. They're bound to find yours. However, you need to provide the spiders an open path into your site. Once that pathway is opened, the spiders will crawl your site.

Unlike Internet directories such as the Yahoo! Directory which require manual submissions, the search engines index sites without them having ever been submitted.

A Web site will be indexed with as little as one link from a site already indexed by the search engine. For example, if a site that is included in the Google search engine links to your site, the spiders will follow that link. Once the spiders crawl your site, it's almost immediately part of Google's index. It's that simple. Users of the Google Toolbar can also tell they have been indexed as their PageRank meter will turn from gray to white.

It is thought by a number of SEO professionals, that a site found by Google will rank higher than one that uses Google's regular site submission process. Many others believe that Web sites using Google's submission page don't even get indexed at all!

Other search engines are often difficult for webmasters to even locate their submission page. Most search engines simply don't have easily located free submission options. Many others only have paid inclusion to their index.

Many novice webmasters and more than a few professionals are simply unaware of the ways to get a site included in the various search engines. In fact, the widespread lack of knowledge on this subject has spawned an entire submission industry. There is certainly no need to use the various electronic submission services, especially for gaining entry into the Google index.

There is a shady side of the submission industry too and a lot of it is based on sending spam. The supposed inclusions take advantage of the fallacies surrounding search engine indexing. Further misconceptions arise because many people believe that their sites must be resubmitted to the search engines on a monthly basis. This is simply not true. Once the search engines index a Web site, it will remain indexed. It's also a myth that each and every page of your site must be submitted separately for inclusion.

I also think it unnecessary to submit to the hundreds of minor search engines on the Internet. Inclusion in the majors is enough for virtually all practical purposes.

Providing an open path for the search engine spiders.

All you need to get your site indexed is a link from a previously indexed web page. Of course this is more easily said than done. The problem for many Web site owners is getting that first link from an already indexed site. There are several good and proven techniques for getting a previously indexed link to your site.

One proven method of getting a link to your site is to offer a link exchange to other webmasters whose sites are already indexed. A friend or business associate may be willing to swap links with you. If these options are unavailable, try exchanging with business sites that complement your own but are not competitors. Out of a number of link exchange requests, you are certain to achieve at least one link into your site. That is enough to get your site crawled by a spider.

Another technique for getting an incoming link that also pays long-term benefits is submitting your site to an Internet directory. Many of the smaller directories provide almost instant inclusion. Since these directories are often crawled on an almost daily basis, your site could be indexed in as little as one or two days.

Posting in message forums will get your site visited by a search engine spider. Many Internet discussion forums allow for the use of a signature link back to your Web site. If they do, be certain to use one in your posts. Like adding your site to a directory, joining a message forum can pay off with a link to your site getting you indexed quickly.

Also be sure to promote and market your Web site. Spreading the word about your site, using even the most mundane promotional methods will almost certainly attract some interest. With that interest will come some natural links to your site.

One site I maintain went live in January of this year and has only one link from a previously indexed web page. The site has never been manually nor electronically submitted to the search engines, yet it is already listed in Google, MSN, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves and finally Inktomi!

This site was picked up by the Googlebot within 20 days of going live! Once again, this is with only one link from a previously indexed web page.

**************

Ed Andrist is the owner of Paradigm Web Design where a great web site doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Only an arm. He also publishes this E-zine as well as being involved in several other web sites.

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If you want to post both Back and Forward buttons on your page, use the following coding:

<form>
<input type="button" value="back" onClick="history.go(-1)">
<input type="button" value="forward" onCLick="history.go(1)">
</form>

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Second Article

Be Smart Online and Watch Out For Phishing Schemes!

by: Susan Nichols Vector Central Marketing

Watch out for emails that have phrases like the following. (Dashes ---- stand for an account name like PayPal, eBay, your bank name, etc.:

• Please confirm that you are the real owner of your --- account
• Verify your --- account
• Last notice about your cable provider
• Update your --- account
• --- Account Alert
• --- Account Renew
• The Security of your account
• --- Account Issue
• --- Account Review
• --- Account Incident
• --- Account Suspended
• Your credit/debit card information must be updated
• Check your account
• Second (third) notification
• Your profile has been updated
• Notification of...

These types of Phishing schemes can be very dangerous. The inappropriate senders of these emails will take your account information, your credit card information, and take your identity. Phishing, this type of scheme, is one of the most dangerous forms of scams.

IdentityProtection101.com suggests the following:

• No legitimate company would ever ask you to provide your personal information or your account information.
• View the link in the email. For example: PayPal will always read https:// (notice the "s").
• Be wary of e-mails that contain misspelled words, incomplete sentences, and awkward phrases.
• Don't give your personal information to anyone unless you trust them and have initiated the contact yourself via a telephone number or web address that you know to be valid.
• www.identityprotection101.com/phishing

If you receive an email that looks like it is from your bank or an online account, it is best "not" to open it. If you feel that you must open the email, it is best "not" to reply nor click on any link in the email; and "never" open an attachment. Instead, go to your account's web site ("without" using a link in the email) and use the web site's contact form. Copy and paste the email into the contact form and ask your service if it is from them.

Always Be Safe Online!

**************

Susan Nichols is the editor/publisher of the "Interactive Marketing Ezine" & the "Online Income Opportunities," which provide essential marketing methods to generate your online success! Free weekly ad with subscription. www.vectorcentral.com. As a Solo Ad Design specialist, Susan will assist you with your Exclusive ad campaign.

Comments?

If you'd like to comment on any aspect of this publication, send an E-mail to
comments@ paradigmwebdesign.net

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